page_title: Barbara Gordon
section_title: In other media
hierarchical_section_title: Barbara Gordon / In other media
caption_attribution_description: Photo of Yvonne Craig as Batgirl from the television program Batman.
context_page_description: Barbara Gordon is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. The character was created by television producer William Dozier, editor Julius Schwartz, writer Gardner Fox and artist Carmine Infantino. Dozier, the producer of the 1960s Batman television series, requested Schwartz to call for a new female counterpart to the superhero Batman that could be introduced into publication and the third season of the show simultaneously. The character subsequently made her first comic book appearance as Batgirl in Detective Comics #359, titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!", by Fox and Infantino, allowing her to be introduced into the television series, portrayed by actress Yvonne Craig, in the season 3 premiere "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin", in September that same year.
  Barbara Gordon is the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon, the sister of James Gordon Jr., and is initially employed as head of the Gotham City Public Library.
context_section_description: After the character was introduced in Detective Comics #359 in January 1967, at the request of the producers of the 1960s Batman television series, she was introduced into the television series – portrayed by Yvonne Craig – in the season 3 premiere "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin", in September that same year.
  Les Daniels, in Batman: The Complete History (2004), wrote that the goal of ABC was to "attract new audience members, especially idealistic young girls and less high-minded older men." According to Craig: "I used to think the reason they hired me was because they knew I could ride my own motorcycle ... I realized they hired me because I had a cartoon voice." A shared criticism of Batgirl and other female superheroes portrayed later in television (such as Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman), is that she was not allowed to engage in hand-to-hand combat on screen. As such, "her fights were choreographed carefully to imitate the moves of a Broadway showgirl through the use of a straight kick to her opponent's face rather than the type of kick a martial artist would use." However, Craig has also stated: "I meet young women who say Batgirl was their role model ... They say it's because it was the first time they ever felt girls could do the same things guys could do, and sometimes better. I think that's lovely." During the early 1970s, Craig portrayed Batgirl once again in a public service announcement to advocate equal pay for women. Since Batman, the character has had a long history of appearances in television and other media. As Batgirl, Barbara Gordon plays a supporting role in a string of animated series, voiced by Jane Webb in The Batman/Superman Hour (1968), Melendy Britt in The New Adventures of Batman (1977), Melissa Gilbert in Batman: The Animated Series (1992), Tara Strong in The New Batman Adventures (1997) and Beware the Batman (2013), Danielle Judovits in The Batman (2004), Mae Whitman in Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008) and Alyson Stoner in Young Justice (2011). The Batman series also showcased the character's first animated adaptation as Oracle, voiced by Kellie Martin in the episode "Artifacts" (2007). She also appears in DC Super Hero Girls voiced by Mae Whitman in season 1 as Barbara Gordon and season 2 as Batgirl. Other variations of the character that have been adapted into other media include an elderly Barbara Gordon, voiced by Stockard Channing and Angie Harmon in 1999's Batman Beyond, who after retiring as Batgirl, became commissioner of the Gotham City police department.
  Dina Meyer starred as Barbara Gordon in the television series Birds of Prey (2002). It became the first adaptation to show the character's progression from Batgirl to Oracle, which included her paralysis at the hands of the Joker. Meyer commented on her character's complex history stating: "She's multidimensional. She was a former superhero. She was extremely active physically for years, fighting alongside Batman. The unfortunate incident with the Joker took away the use of her legs ... but rather than give up and throw in the towel, as she could've done so easily, she went and studied escrima (a martial art), got stronger in her mental state and, while helping out her father on a case one day, realized she had a knack for solving mysteries. And all of a sudden she became this computer genius." Overall, the series received criticism for its emphasis on aesthetics over plot. It aired for one season before receiving cancellation. In the fourth season of the TV series Arrow, after Felicity Smoak suffered a similar paralyzing injury, Oliver Queen gives her the codename Overwatch while commenting that "Oracle" was taken. Although in the comic books Barbara Gordon was never a member of the Teen Titans, she was slated to appear in the live-action Titans series, when originally proposed for TNT. This version of the character was to be a wheelchair-bound computer expert, but not yet be known as Oracle. This series was subsequently redeveloped for DC Universe without the character.
  In addition to live-action television and animation, th
caption: Yvonne Craig as Batgirl
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